| Hearing impaired people often encounter difficulty at | | | | there wasbackground noise from air-conditioning and |
| workbecause their disability isn't visible. I'd like to | | | | industrial machinery. |
| relateto you, briefly, the sorry saga of a young man | | | | No effort was made to advise the staff how much |
| who hasrecently been dragged through a | | | | this fellow could hear, or how to deal with him. Within |
| performance managementprocess, essentially brought | | | | weeks, there was more conflict and the hearing |
| about by misunderstanding,frustration on his behalf, and | | | | impaired man was suspended on pay and eventually |
| failure by an employer tomake a 'reasonable | | | | transferred yet again. |
| adjustment' [Australian law includes the concept of | | | | Unfortunately, the employing body was a government |
| reasonable adjustment which in effect means that | | | | hospital, full of professionals who are expected to be |
| employers are required to make reasonable | | | | 'caring' types, but who couldn't seem to extend their |
| adjustments necessary to enable employment | | | | caring to a fellow employee. |
| opportunities for disabled people]in relation to this | | | | The moral of the story is that if you would ask a |
| person's employment. | | | | one-armed person what they needed to be able to |
| The man involved has been hearing impaired from | | | | work safely, effectively and efficiently, why not do the |
| birthhaving a severe/profound loss of a bilateral nature | | | | same for a hearing impaired person? The simple |
| caused by rubella (German measles) during his | | | | answer is that people who are not hearing impaired |
| gestation. That is,he hears high pitch sounds with one | | | | have no idea what it is like and because it's an invisible |
| ear and low pitch withthe other. With hearing aids in a | | | | ailment, we don't take it so seriously. |
| sound proof room, he hasaround 20 percent hearing. | | | | The principle of reasonable adjustment requires that |
| But hearing aids pick up all noise,not just speech. | | | | we makereasonable adjustment for people with a |
| When in a one-to-one conversation with no | | | | disability. All theemployer reasonably needed to do |
| background interference, he can conduct a normal | | | | was to conduct a meeting withpeople from the young |
| conversation. To do that, he has to listen intently (unlike | | | | man's work group and explain his levelof hearing |
| people with normal hearing) and read the lips of people | | | | impairment, what it meant and how to cope with it. |
| with whom he is conversing. His mainchallenge in life is | | | | For example, if he had his back to you and you |
| that people who talk with him one-to-onethink that with | | | | wanted to talkwith him, touch him on the shoulder to |
| hearing aids he can hear like anyone else. Thatis far | | | | get his attention; if thearea was noisy, indicate with him |
| wide of reality. | | | | to move somewhere quiet, andthen talk face-to-face. |
| In one work unit, staff with whom this man worked | | | | They could have asked the man to explain to people |
| were told that he was hearing impaired ... nothing else. | | | | what he can hear, can't hear and how best he could |
| When peopletalked to him at a distance while he had | | | | have been integrated into the workplace. It could have |
| his back towards them,he did not respond. Frequently, | | | | been that easy. |
| people became annoyed with himbecause they | | | | If you are dealing with hearing impaired people, be |
| thought they were being ignored. They would | | | | considerateenough to ask them how you can make |
| thenshout. He'd hear the shouting and turn around to | | | | the environment betterfor them to hear. They'll tell you |
| see a fellowworker with an angry look - it's hard to | | | | what they need and whatmakes it difficult for them. |
| shout without lookingangry - try it. He'd then get angry | | | | This sorry saga led to the hearing impaired worker |
| because he would be confusedabout why the person | | | | being 'let go' with a cash settlement. The lesson for all |
| shouting at him was angry. | | | | employers of disabled people in an age of |
| Sometimes people would talk to him as they walked | | | | anti-discrimination legislation, is that you cannot afford |
| along a longcorridor, or when there was background | | | | not to manage these issues competently. If in doubt, |
| equipment working, ornoise from other voices etc. | | | | get advice from your Human Resources people or |
| Eventually, he was moved to anotherwork group. This | | | | other professionals such as audiologists, psychologists, |
| one had several foreign staff who spoke Englishas a | | | | occupational therapists and so on. It may save you a |
| second language. It was also a work area where | | | | lot of trouble and cash in the long run. |